Major general Lo Hsieh-che () was the head of the electronic communications and information department in the
Republic of China Army
The Republic of China Army (ROCA), previously known as the Chinese Nationalist Army or Nationalist Revolutionary Army and unofficially as the Taiwanese Army, is the largest branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. An estimated 80% of the ...
until his arrest in early 2011 on charges of
spying for the People's Republic of China. Lo is reported to be the highest-ranking officer arrested for allegedly spying for
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, and thus represents Taiwan's worst espionage case in 50 years. Taiwan military court sentenced Lo to
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
on 26 April 2012.
Biography
Lo was born in 1959 into a military family. His father is a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
veteran and his mother is from
Penghu
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. His parents met and got married when his father was stationed in
Penghu
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
. Lo has an elder brother who is also in the military. Lo's father retired from the army, where he was a platoon leader, and took up farming in
Guanshan, Taitung
Guanshan Township () is an urban township in northern Taitung County, Taiwan.
History
Formerly called ''Lilong'', which is from the Amis word meaning "red worms" and rendered in Hokkien as A-lí-lóng (阿里壟). By 1920, the town was calle ...
.
Lo's elder brother attended the Chung Cheng Armed Forces Preparatory School, after which he attended the
Republic of China Military Academy
The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China's ...
. He achieved the rank of Colonel, and has since retired.
Following in his brother's footsteps, he entered the ROC Military Academy, where he graduated from the 51st Communications section. Being proficient in languages, he also studied in the United States
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...
in Monterey, California. He graduated from Colleges of Army and Warfare of the
National Defense University
The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...
. In 2000, he became Commander of the 73rd Communications unit of the
6th Army Corps
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
, and was promoted to Colonel.
Military career
*Military attache in Thailand 2002–2005.
*Returned to Taiwan in 2006 as deputy director of international intelligence affairs.
*became head of the electronic communications and information department in the ROC Army.
*Promoted to Major general on 1 January 2008
Spying allegations and motivations
Military officials said Lo's office and house were raided by security authorities on 27 January 2011. Classified documents about current military electronic warfare and strategies were found.
[Chung, Lawrence (9 February 2011). "Major general arrested in Taiwan is accused of spying for Beijing", ''South China Morning Post'']
''China Times'' reported that he had been lured by sex and money; news reports dubbed the case as "honey trap". Lo is said to have met a woman in her thirties and got involved with her when he was stationed in Thailand between 2002 and 2005, and had been selling high-level secrets since 2004. The woman, said to hold an Australian passport and described as "tall, beautiful and chic," induced Lo to collect secrets for her. He reportedly received payment on a case by case basis.
[AFP]
Spy suspect caught in honey trap
, ''The Standard'', 11 February 2011 According to local media cited by the ''
South China Morning Post
The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...
'', Lo may have received US$1 million on occasions.
[Chung, Lawrence (11 February 2011). "Mainland 'honey trap' may have snared general", ''South China Morning Post''] However, ''
United Daily News
''United Daily News'' (UDN; ) is a newspaper published in Taiwan. It is considered to support the pan-Blue Coalition in its editorials.
History
UDN was founded in 1951 by Wang Tiwu as a merger of three newspapers, ''Popular Daily'' (全民 ...
'' said: "sexual and financial temptations aside, the choice was definitely related to Lo's confusion over the country's future and the loyalty of military servicemen."
''China Post'' cites media reports that the
American Institute in Taiwan
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT; ) is the ''de facto'' Embassy of the United States of America in Taiwan. The AIT institution is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the federal government of the United States in Taiwan with Congressional oversi ...
(AIT), the de facto US mission in Taiwan, had been aware of the affair Lo was having in 2002 and had conducted their own investigation into it between 2002 and 2005.
[News staff (9 February 2011]
"Army gen. found to be spying for mainland: Ministry of Defense"
''The China Post'' Although Lo was already married, he conducted his affair with the woman even after he returned to Taiwan. The media reported that his trips to the US with her had been monitored by US intelligence, who alerted Taipei to the liaison.
[
]
Implications
Although Lo is said to be the highest-ranking officer arrested for allegedly spying for the PRC, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense downplayed the threat posed by the possible leaks by Lo, stating that he only had limited access to highly classified information. The acting director of the MND political warfare bureau said that Lo's duties as Director of the army's information and communications bureau were mainly "management duties". However, some military experts believe that Lo had access to an information about vital air, ground and sea battle management systems which could have severely compromised Taiwan's military command system in the case of conflict with Mainland China. Experts also believe joint military cooperation between Taipei and Washington may also have been jeopardized by the security breach.[Chang, Meg (10 February 2011]
MND downplays arrest of military spy
''Taiwan Today''
There are particular concerns that Lo may have passed on classified information on the "Po Sheng Operation", an advanced island-wide electronic warfare communications network used for directing the army, navy and air force in joint Taiwan–US war operations and communicating with the US Pacific Command. Military officials noted the Po Sheng system was so sensitive that different sections were constructed by different contractors to avoid the entire system being exposed.[ However, spokesman for the Taiwanese military said that the head of the army's communications and electronic information bureau did not have access to overall details of the Po Sheng project.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lo, Hsien-che
1959 births
Living people
People convicted of spying for the People's Republic of China
Defense Language Institute alumni
People from Taitung County
Republic of China Army generals
Incarcerated spies